Neighbours noisy kids making a constant racket

[PeachyKeen12]

We moved into a wonderful house in a beautiful area about 4 months ago. Our neighbours are nice people and have 2 kids, 7 and 9 years old. The kids play out in the garden every day after school, not a problem at all as I love the fact kids play out, but they are very loud, constantly screaming and screeching, bouncing on their trampoline for hours. They are out in the garden until approximately 8pm every night, being really loud. We have a 1 year old whose bedroom in at the front of the house, and I can hear next doors kids over our baby monitor when they are out in the garden, because they are so loud that our monitor picks it up. I’ve lost count of how many times our baby hasn’t gone to sleep because of the excessive noise outside. We use a white noise machine to block out any outside noise. The kids will be out in all weathers, whether it’s raining or not. During the recent heatwave where we had to have our windows open , we bought an AC unit for our sons room which was loud and didn’t bother him because it is essentially white noise , and I could still hear the neighbours kids over the top of it. Now, i know it’s school holidays and I try to be reasonable, but I am 22 weeks pregnant , tired, and I want to wind down in the evenings like the rest of the world. Our street is full of kids but we don’t see or hear them in their gardens, just next door. It’s currently 9pm, the neighbours kids are still our screeching in the garden, I can’t close the window in the living room because our cat is outside and won’t come in because she’s frightened of the noise. She’s currently hiding in the bushes between our house and their house . We don’t have a cat flap so the cat uses the window to come in and out . Next door they have decided to light a fire which has smoked out our entire back garden, so now our house absolutely stinks of smoke, and i don’t want to lock the cat out so I’ve had to leave the window open until she feels comfortable to come in, but can hear the kids screaming their heads off . Can’t even hear the tv, nor do I have the concentration span to watch it with everything going on and my stress levels are peak.

my partner doesn’t want me to go over and have a conversation with them because he doesn’t want a fall out with the neighbours - totally understand that aspect of it but I’m so frustrated because I don’t know what else I can do. If I can’t have a conversation with them , am I just expected to deal with it? The kids bang and thud around the house all day long so I make sure we are out of the house after my son has his first nap of the day, and I don’t come home until 3/4pm so I don’t have to listen to the kids next door. But when it’s 9pm and I can’t even sit and relax in my own living room or hear the tv, it feels abit excessive and I am really struggling to keep a lid on it all.

am I being unreasonable? I know kids are kids but I just find it really inconsiderate and I don’t know what else I can do … send help!!

Although I have sympathy for your situation I think its wonderful the kids are outside playing instead of stuck in on a screen. Getting a catflap would be a logical next step. Your baby will get used to the noise - mine learned to nap with his toddler brother rampaging round the house.

Your kids will be the ones making the noise in a few years

That’s what I thought!

Yabu and I definitely wouldn’t complain as just wait until your child is that age. Im
sure you’ll have good intentions but it’s just like parents who say they’ll never let their toddlers watch a tablet. See how long that lasts!

Its good for your baby to get used to
sleeping through noise.

I wouldn’t be letting my kids go crazy in the garden at 9pm … I’m more considerate than that

I would hate this op but I suspect I'm in the minority. Kids don't need to be screeching in the garden at 9pm.

Earlier on fine but 9pm is a bit much for me.

Surely it's all temporary though because in just a few weeks time, it'll be dark by 9pm and by September/October it'll be dark even earlier than that. Plus they're not going to be 7 and 9 forever, they're going to quite quickly grow out of the shrieking while playing stage (probably just as your eldest is growing into it).

If you go say something, it's just going to cause ill-feeling and you're setting the tone for them to do the same to you when your DC are the ones outside being noisy (and don't say "my DC would never" because you don't know that).

It's not even a noise that environmental health would be interested in because children playing and moving about their home environment is classed as normal living noise.

I do understand where you're coming from and I know myself that once a noise is irritating , it's like your brain picks It up more readily as soon as it starts. However, it sounds like this noise has become the only thing your brain’s tuning into and it’s probably making it feel louder and more annoying than it really is. Maybe try doing something to distract yourself, it might help take the edge off and create a bit of a mental buffer between you and the noise. School is back in 2-3 weeks time too which will help provide some respite during the day, just in time for the nights starting to draw in too which should help with it finishing earlier in the evenings.

Nope, they do not. It’s almost 10pm and they are still out there making a racket …. I don’t know how I haven’t lost my head! X

I'm with you OP. We definitely seem to be in the minority as everyone goes 'kids will be kids' 'it'll be your kids at some point' so frustrating as it won't be. People who haven't experienced constant noise just don't understand. We can hear our neighbours kids thumping up and down the stairs through the wall and it's the worst 🫠 we're saving up for a detached but my fear is what you've said about outside noise. I feel since covid that people have less consideration for others and it's such a shame 🥺 I would speak to them and play on the fact it's disturbing your child, reiterating it's lovely their children play outside so much but it's interrupting your down time, when you've met them before do they seem like reasonable people?

I am praying that winter means quieter nights for us to be honest. And I feel bad paying it be sure I love kids and I’m a people person, as I say our neighbours are lovely people and I don’t want to growl and cause upset but it’s just constant noise and when it’s this time of night it becomes more and more irritating. I’m all for kids being outside and playing , but I just feel there comes a point where a parent would surely say “that’s enough now, noise down or go inside”, I know that’s the kind of parent I am/will be when my children reach that age. To be honest, I can’t ever see me letting my kids out at 10pm and cause a nuisance to others but I know not everyone is the same. I just feel so disheartened by it all because I really aren’t one to complain but I’m finding it all abit too much being every evening. It’s not something I’d ever complain to the council about because I get that kids are just kids, but I can’t understand why parents think it’s acceptable to behave so inconsiderately.

I absolutely love the summer months, but I have so far, hated this summer!

They seem really nice, I’ve only had a few conversations with them but they seem lovely. I don’t like to complain but I’m really struggling to want to be in my own home because I dread the evenings. I spent my day keeping my little one entertained, I’m going back to work soon and will be back on maternity leave in a few months time, and I spend my evenings putting my son to bed and look forward to just sitting down and relaxing , having some dinner and a few hours of tv and wind down time… which just doesn’t seem to happen because it’s bang bang bang from the inside and screeching from outside. It just feels relentless and so tiring.

like you say, it won’t be my kids doing that because I wouldn’t have them in the garden bunching around at 10pm. I could totally understand a one off, a party, some kind of celebration and just get on with it, but day in day out it’s just too much! X

We have the same, OP, but I quite like it. The trampolining shows impressive stamina through the summer months! But I’m also pregnant and, with you having a little one as well, I can definitely see how exhaustion and hormones might be making this all feel relentless. It will get better as their kids get older and yours hit the shrieky giggly stage.

So hard isn't it. My neighbours are lovely so I haven't mentioned anything yet and if we sell I don't want to rock the boat but it's so rubbish. I dread the holidays as the kids are home so much more and it's bang bang bang whilst trying to work is fun 😩 I hope it improves soon and if you speak to them they take it on board. Just feels good to know it's not just me feeling that way

It baffles me how much parents seem to ignore the banshee screeching of their children. It’s an epidemic round our way and I don’t get it. We live in a ‘quiet’ (Ha!) cul-de-sac and an army of primary school children scream blue murder from dawn to dusk. They are supervised but they are never told to quieten down. How the parents can block out the racket of that noise is a mystery. Children playing out is absolutely fine but WHY for the love of all that is holy is screaming and screeching not parented?

It’s disrespectful and highly aggravating for everyone else. However, I’m afraid OP that the majority of parents think it’s acceptable and anyone who doesn’t is ‘grumpy’ and if you dare say anything then be prepared to wear full body armour as they tell you ‘They are just KIDS and they are PLAYING’ Although they probably won’t hear you as their precious darlings will still be letting rip at 90 decibels.

Good luck.

Could you not ask the kids to knock it off next time they start? Stick your head out the bedroom window or over the fence and, in a nice voice, say something like "guys, that game sounds like so much fun but would you do me a huge favour? Can you be a tiny bit quieter for the next 10-15 minutes while I get the baby to sleep?" Most kids I know would drop the noise at least for a little bit. You could even go for a bit of a "are you okay? I heard screaming" fake concern and, when they say they were just playing, ask them to not to shriek. A lot of kids who are playing loudly don't usually realise they're being loud until it's pointed out to them.

you are not unreasonable. we are living through the same hell as you. living in a tiny couldesack very peacefull retired or professionals bought our house for 360k only to have next door sold and rented out to someone who should be on a council estate. constant fire pit burning kids going nuts inside as they dont let them our for days in summer it was pure hell we not once eaten outside or sat out playing with our kids our kids are similar age to theirs and dont became like theirs do

flabargasted by the coments from people who clearly havent been living through this hell or must be causing it themselves to others justifying their behaviour here.

we are curently working with environmental health to get them moved out of here

Ok Susan lorincz 🤣 sorry couldn’t help myself 🙈